Cadel Evans fears Richie Porte could slip up only once in Tour de France and end hopes of winning

CADEL Evans says Richie Porte is right in Tour de France contention if he can avoid that “one bad day” in the mountains.

The Tasmanian is second, trailing Italian leader Vincenzo Nibali by two minutes and 23 seconds after stage 11 as he bids to follow Evans as Australia’s second champion in the world’s most prestigious cycling race.

Evans, the 2011 winner, said Porte was “in perfect position” after his Sky teammate and defending champ Chris Froome withdrew injured last week.

“Richie physically certainly has the capabilities to do a great three weeks, as he’s shown alongside (teammates) Froome and (Brad) Wiggins for their two victories (in the past two years),” Evans said.

“My only thing is that his history in three-week races is that he has one bad day that can cost him a lot of time.